Toucans Manual & Field Guide Contents
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Avian Models for 3D Applications Characters and Procedural Maps by Ken Gilliland 1 Songbird ReMix Toucans Manual & Field Guide Contents Manual Introduction 3 Overview 3 P oser and DAZ Studio Use 3 P hysical-based Rendering 4 W here to Find your Birds 4 Field Guide List of Species 5 General Information on Toucans 6 Aracaris Collared Aracari 8 Fiery-billed Aracari 9 Green Toucanets Emerald Toucanet 10 Dichromatic Toucanets Guianan Toucanet 11 Mountain Toucans Plate-billed Mountain Toucan 1 2 Black-billed Mountain Toucan 1 3 Toucans Channel-billed Toucan 1 5 Keel-billed Toucan 1 6 Swainson ’ s or Chestnut-mandibled Toucan 17 Toco Toucan 18 Resources, Credits and Thanks 19 Copyrighted 2008-201 8 by Ken Gilliland www.SongbirdReMix.com Opinions expressed on this booklet are solely that of the author, Ken Gilliland, and may or may not reflect the opinions of the publisher. 2 Songbird ReMix Toucans Introduction Toucans are highly recognizable birds with their oversized beaks and bright colorations . They are often associated with the parrot family, Africa and a cereal box. While a toucan does grace a cereal box, they ’ re not parrots; they ’ re actually closer relatives to the American Barbets . No Toucans are found in Africa, instead they are endemic to Central and South America. Toucans are broken into 5 types; Aracaris, Green Toucanets, Dichromatic Toucanets, Mountain Toucans and “ typical ” Toucans. Aracaris generally have yellow and black stripes on the chest. Green Toucanets are smaller than typical toucans and are primarily green. Dichromatic Toucanets are similar to Green Toucanets but exhibit sexual dimorphism (male and female do not look alike). Mountain Toucans are very large birds and found in montane regions. Toucans are among the most well-known and popular birds in the world. They have graced many countries postage, advertised beer, cereal, political parties and even have a constellation named after them (Tucana). Overview The set is located within the Animals : S ongbird ReMix folder. Here is where you will find a number of folders, such as Bird Library , Manuals and Resources . Let's look at what is contained in these folders : o Bird Library: This folder holds the actual species and poses for the "premade" birds. Birds are placed into a "type"folder (such as "Birds of Prey (Order Falconiformes)" which for example would hold falcons, hawks and eagles). The birds for this set can be found in the following folder(s): . Woodpeckers and Toucans (Order Piciformes) o Manuals: Contains a link to the online manual for the set. o Props: Contains any props that might be included in the set o Resources : Items in this folder are for creating and customizing your birds . Bird Base Models: This folder has the blank , untextured model(s) used in this set. These models are primarily for users who wish to experiment with poses or customize their own species of bird. With using physical renderers such as Iray and Superfly, SubD should be turned to at least “ 3 ” . Poser Use Select Figures in the Runtime Folder and go to the Animals : Songbird ReMix folder. Select the bird from the renderer ( Firefly or Superfly ) folder you want and simply click it to load. Some birds in the Songbird ReMix series may load with attached parts ( Conformers ) 3 such as tail or crest extensions. Some of these parts have specific morphs. You will need to click on the attached part to access those controls. Associated poses can be found in the same folder- Bird Library : (Type) : Poses . DAZ Studio Use G o to the Animals : Songbird ReMix folder. Select the bird from the renderer ( 3Delight or Iray ) folder you want and simply click it to load. Some birds in the Songbird ReMix series may load with attached parts ( Conformers ) such as tail or crest extensions. Some of these parts have specific morphs. You will need to click on the attached part to access those controls. Associated poses can be found in the same folder- Bird Library : (Type) : Poses . Note: Using the "Apply this Character to the currently selected Figure(s)" option will not properly apply the correct scaling to the bird selected. It is better to delete the existing character first and load the one you want to use. Physical-based Rendering Physical-based renderers such as Iray and Superfly require more CPU and memory horsepower than the legacy renderers for DAZ-Studio and Poser because of ray-trace bounces and higher resolution meshes needed for displacement. Superfly, in particular, may crash especially when using the GPU-based options. The best solution is to render using one of the CPU-based options. Limiting the number of ray-trace bounces by setting “ Pixel Samples ” to “ 2 ” or “ 1 ” will also reduce crashes and speed renders. Of course, upgrading memory and your CPU will also help. Where to find your birds Type Folder Bird Species Emerald Toucanet Guianan Toucanet Collared Aracari Fiery-billed Aracari Channel-billed Toucan Woodpeckers and Toucans (Order Keel-billed Toucan Piciformes) Plate-billed Mountain Toucan Black-billed Mountain Toucan Swainsons Toucan Toco Toucan Where to find your poses Type Folder For what species? Woodpeckers and Toucans (Order All Toucans, Toucanets and Aracaris Piciformes) 4 Songbird ReMix Toucans Field Guide Aracaris Collared Aracari Fiery-billed Aracari GREEN Toucanets Emerald Toucanet Dichromatic Toucanets Guianan Toucanet MOUNTAIN Toucans Plate-billed Mountain Toucan Black-billed Mountain Toucan Toucans Channel-billed Toucan Keel-billed Toucan Chestnut-mandibled or Swainson ’ s Toucan Toco Toucan 5 General Information about Toucans From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (edited by Ken Gilliland) Toucans are near passerine birds from the neotropics (Central and northern South America)and are most closely related to American barbets. They are brightly marked and have large, colorful bills. The family includes five genera and about forty different species. The name of this bird group is derived from the French “ Tupi tucana ” . Species There are three types of toucan. The largest toucans generally have black feathers, with touches of white, yellow, and scarlet Aracaris (smaller toucans) have yellow under parts, crossed by one or more black or red bands. The toucanets (smallest of the toucans) have mostly green plumage with blue markings. Toucans range in size from the 130g Lettered Aracari ( Pteroglossus inscriptus ) to the 680g Toco Toucan ( Ramphastos toco ). Their bodies are short and compact and comparable to the size and shape of a crow. The tail is rounded and varies in length, from half the length to the whole length of the body. The neck is very short and thick. The legs of a toucan are short and thick. Their toes are arranged in pairs with the first and fourth toes turned backward (Zygodactyl feet). The majority of toucans do not show any sexual dimorphism (male/female) in their coloration, the genus Selenidera being the most notable exception to this rule (hence their common name, "dichromatic toucanets"). The most noticeable difference in the sexes is the bills of female toucans are usually shorter, deeper and sometimes straighter than male bills. The huge and usually colorful bill of the toucan, in some large species, measures more than half the length of the body. Despite its size, the bill is very light, being composed of bone struts with little solid material between them. The bill has forward-facing serrations resembling teeth, which historically led naturalists to believe that toucans captured fish and were primarily carnivorous. However, today we know that Toucans eat mostly fruit. Why the bill is so large and brightly colored is still unknown. As there is no sexual dimorphism in coloration, it is unlikely to be a sexual signal, and their diet does not require a bill that size. It has been theorized that the bill may intimidate smaller birds, so that the toucan may plunder nests undisturbed. Also, the beak allows the bird to reach deep into tree holes to access food unavailable to other birds, and also to demolish suspended nests built by smaller birds. A toucan's tongue is long (up to 14-15 cm), narrow and singularly frayed on each side, adding to its sensitivity as an organ of taste. A structural complexity probably unique to toucans involves the modification of several tail vertebrae. The rear three vertebrae are fused and attached to the spine by a ball-and- 6 socket joint. Because of this, toucans may snap their tail forwards until it touches the head. This is the posture in which they sleep, often appearing simply as a ball of feathers, with the tip of the tail sticking out over the head. Behavior Toucans are primarily frugivorous (fruit-eating), but they will take prey such as insects and small lizards. Captive toucans have been reported to actively hunt insects in their cages, and it is possible to keep toucans on an insect-only diet. They also plunder nests of smaller birds, taking eggs and nestlings. This probably provides a crucial addition of protein to their diet. However, in their range, toucans are the dominant frugivores, and as such play an extremely important ecological role as vectors for seed dispersal of fruiting trees. Toucans are arboreal and nest in natural cavities or holes excavated by woodpeckers in trees. The toucan bill has very limited use as an excavation tool. Toucans are resident breeders and do not migrate. Toucans are usually found in pairs or small flocks, within which bill fencing and wrestling may occur, probably to establish dominance hierarchies. Systematic list Genus Aulacorhynchus - green toucanets (6-13 species, depending on taxonomy) Genus Selenidera - dichromatic toucanets (6 species) Genus Andigena - mountain toucans (4 species) Genus Pteroglossus - aracaris (14 species, incl. Saffron Toucanet) Genus Ramphastos - typical toucans (about 10 species) Toucans in Fiction Toucan Sam, mascot of “ Froot Loops ” cereal.